America’s Political Future Will Be Shaped by Aging, Journal Indicates

The latest issue of the journal Public Policy & Aging Report (PP&AR) from The Gerontological Society of America shows how aging is reshaping politics today in unprecedented ways, and how it will continue to do so for years to come.

Titled “Building Momentum for a New Future in Politics and Aging,” the journal highlights existing studies as well as recommended areas for further research.

“Here, we see how equal amounts of policy progress and stagnation, as well as changing cultural views on aging, are fueling social, economic, and political changes in ways both expected and not,” wrote PP&AR Associate Editor Michael Lepore, PhD, in his introduction. “Some of these societal changes raise concerns about limitations in current and future generations’ abilities to live well into old age, at younger ages with disabilities, and as caregivers, whereas other shifts, like evolving cultural views on aging, nurture a more intergenerationally just society.”

Among the seven articles that follow, the journal offers insight into major trends in the politics of aging; how generational political divides are influencing aging-related policies; the impact of aging on the economy; political impediments to aging in place; the importance of support for family caregivers; the longevity and health of U.S. presidential candidates; and how to build momentum through the frames we use to describe aging.

“Recognizing and grappling with the relevance of aging to politics is an essential step to ensuring that we are not weaving the last thread of the American social fabric but, rather, beginning a new national era that embraces aging and fully supports our interpersonal and transgenerational interdependences,” Lepore wrote. “By achieving these goals, living well into and throughout old age — despite physically or cognitively disabling conditions — will be increasingly possible for all.”

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Public Policy & Aging Report is a publication of the National Academy on an Aging Society, the policy institute of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA). As the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging, GSA’s principal mission — and that of its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public.